THE Canadian government has announced it will contribute nearly a million dollars to support the efforts of the Pan American Health Organisation against COVID-19 in six Caribbean countries, including The Bahamas.

Several countries in the Caribbean are reporting a rise in COVID-related deaths – including a doubling of COVID-19 deaths in some islands, PAHO said. Many countries have begun or will soon begin, rolling out vaccines to protect their populations.

According to a statement from PAHO, the donation by the Canadian government will be used to acquire essential personal protection equipment, laboratory and medical equipment, as well as supplies to be used by health care workers and hospitals in The Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, as part of PAHO’s technical cooperation in the fight against the pandemic. It will also help strengthen communication efforts around public health risks, continued promotion of protective measures and community engagement.

“The pandemic is putting health care workers and systems of the countries in the Caribbean under great strain, which is why we are grateful to the government of Canada for supporting COVID-19 treatment for countries in the Caribbean that are struggling due to the pandemic. Their contribution will help save lives and shows how we can all join forces in solidarity to defeat this virus,” said PAHO director Carissa Etienne.

This contribution is part of a five-year subregional programme between PAHO and Canada, which aims to reduce the heath consequence of emergencies and disasters in the Caribbean, through better preparedness and a more resilient health sector. It builds on the longstanding relationship between the organisation and the Canadian government to strengthen health emergency risk management in the region of the Americas.

For over 30 years, Canada has supported PAHO’s efforts to improve emergency preparedness, mitigation and response across Latin America and the Caribbean region. It also played a key role in the establishment of the comprehensive disaster management (CDM) framework adopted by CARICOM member states, together with PAHO.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Canada has donated over $8m to support PAHO’s technical cooperation to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the Americas.

Canada’s acting senior director for the Caribbean Regional Development Programme, Jennifer Heys, said: “Even one year later, COVID-19 continues to challenge health systems across the Caribbean, and we continue to see the stark health and socio-economic impacts this crisis is having on the Caribbean people. Canada is proud to partner with PAHO once again to provide additional much-needed medical equipment, supplies, and training to support the Caribbean countries that are facing the greatest health sector crisis from COVID-19.”